The 99 Maxima driver side (left) door has managed to become misaligned to the point where there is a 1/4 inch gap at the bottom of the door. The rest of the door seems to fit ok. This door bottom gap has caused the door switch to stay open which keeps the interior lights on. Note that I tried a new OEM door switch boot since the old one was somewhat worn.

As a temporary fix to keep the switch from staying on, I stuck small square of Dynomat like material that I get a Home Depot for patching roof issues on the door mating surface to close the gap between the door and the switch head. I would like to get the door back to its normal position to eliminate the temporary fix.

In addition to the misalignment issue, the door locking mechanism has stopped working for the driver's door as well. But this is a separate issue. I've done several 4th gen door and lock swaps so I'm not worried about this one.

Last night I purchased a package of body shims from the local parts store. I may be able to put a shim behind the door hinge to remedy the problem.

Here's my question:

Has anyone had to re align the driver's (left) door to eliminate a gap at the bottom of the door?

The car hasn't been in a wreck that I can see. At one point the door was in alignment and the switch was working correctly.

 

It could be that the hinges are worn out.

I have a similar issue with my door sagging. When the door is open, I can feel the play by lifting the door up.

I bought replacement hinges from the junk yard a year ago... still haven't replaced them yet.

 

Thanks Yellow Cake. I'm about dive in and take it apart today.

 

I remember seeing a thread for a fix for this.
A washer or two was used with a small section cut out of each to fit around the bolt and work as a shim.
Seemed to work pretty well.

 

I loosened the door hinge nuts and inserted some shims on the bottom between the door and hinge. Then realigned the door and seems to work better. I also installed a new door switch bumper.

The door lock issue was caused by a small spring that must have dropped into locking mechanism. Once I took it all apart and lubricated the parts with Houdini it all works good.

 

https://maxima.org/forums/5th-genera...-door-fix.html

 

Yep. I used that approach with pack of Dorman assorted body shims for $3.99. Two shims of each size come in the assortment.

The shims are easy to slide in behind the hinge. On the first attempt I used the thickest shims and that raised the door too high. Next to the thickest worked the best.

 

Couple quick clarifications on this, if you would be so kind.
The near-impossible to access bolts are only loosened enough to jam the shim behind the hinge bracket

Once these bolts are backed out enough for the shim, the bracket has to be pryed from the car body as it has a bead of sealant along the top and sides.

Key question (or confirmation) is that those bolts are not removed- because the washers don't go on them, rather the washer just happens to make a good shim because of its thickness.

Now, exactly what kind of tool could you get in there to turn the bolts? Holy S is that "inaccessible." Truth be told, I did break them loose with a regular old box end wrench and I chickened out (short on time right then) at backing them out due to wanting to verify that it is necessary to pry that thing loose. But does a 12mm flex head ratcheting wrench get her done? It fits and will at least go one click at a time? I ordered one on Amazon for when I get back to it.
Thank you
John

 

Actually I took the easy road and just loosened the nuts that were on the door side of the hinge. Once all four nuts are loose for lower and upper hinges, you can move the door around to adjust it. With both lower and upper hinges loose, I just dropped the body shims into place (between the door and the hinge) from the top -- on the lower hinge. Then aligned the door with the nuts semi-tight and then firmly tightened the nuts at the end. I didn't need to touch the hinge bolts that are behind the fender.

I used a 12mm flex head GearWrench like the one in the picture to loosen and tighten the hinge nuts.

Having a set of flex-head GearWrench tools in 8mm, 10mm, 12mm, and 14mm sizes makes life with a 4th Maxima so much easier.



Parts Store Body Shims

 

This fix is the BEST. It's so awesome with the door closing "correctly." Took 5 minutes. Thank You

12mm flex head gear wrench was like $8 on Amazon. Shim pack at the local auto parts store was less than $5. $13 bucks is worth a million in satisfaction.